Railway-track lifter



(No Model.)

1. SHOUDY.

RAILWAY TRACK LIFTER. No. 296.635. Patented Apr. 8, 1884.

jmdw A W i' ihvrrnn STATES which,

PAT NT RAI LWAY-TRACK LIFTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 296,635. dated April 8, 1884,

Application filed November 3, 1883.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ISRAEL SHoUnY, of Paw Paw Grove, in the county of Lee and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Track Lifters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure l is a front view of the track-lifter. Fig. 2- is a 'sideview of the same, and Fig. 3 is a detail view of the lever.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

My invention has relation to railway-track lifters; and it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of the same, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, the letters A A indicate two posts, fastened convergent-1y together by means of a cross-piece, B, secured some distance from their upper ends, which form bearings for a shaft, 0, upon which a flanged wheel or disk, D, is journaled, one flange of which wheel forms a ratchet-wheel, E, the teeth of which are engagedby a flat bar, F, having handles at both ends, passing through vertical slots G in the post above the crosspiece, pivoted in one of the said slots, and bearing with its lower edge near its free end against a spring, H, immediately under the place where the ratchet-flange engages its upper edge. A rope or chain, I, is fastened at one end to the upper portion of the supporting-fra1ne,and at its other end to the wheel in the groove or drum formed between the flanges, and passes through the eyed shanks J of a pair of hooked tongs, K, the shanks of which are twisted in a plane at right angles to the plane of their hooked portions, and the one of the eyed shanks, or, if desired, both shanks are provided at their upper ends with rollers or pulleys K, over which the rope or chain passes.

The lever consists of an inner portion, T, which is curved to correspond to the upper portion of the ratchet-flange, and which has flanges U upon its sides, fitting down upon the sides of the ratchet-flange, an inwardlyprojecting lip, V, upon the inner side of the outer end of the curved portion, adapted to (N0 model.)

engage the teeth upon the ratchet-flange, and a bifurcated projection or claw, W, upon the outer end of the said curved portion, and a straight handle, X. It will be seen that this form of lever may be used as a claw-bar at the same time it is used as a lever, the inwardlyprojecting lip serving to engage the ratchetteeth, and the flanges serving to hold the lever in position upon the upper portion of the ratchet-flange.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 1. The combination of a frame forming bearings at its upper end, a drum having a ratchet-flange, a flat bar pivoted at one end in a vertical slot in the frame, sliding with its other end in a similar slot, bearing with its upper edge in between the ratchetteeth of the drum, and bearing with its lower edge near its free end against a spring, a rope or chain secured at one end to the upper portion of the frame and at its other end to the drum, a tong or grapple having hooked lower ends and eyed upper ends, through which the rope or chain passes, and alip-lever having apawl engaging the ratchet-wheel, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

2. The combination of two convergent uprights connected by a cross-piece and for1ning bearings at their upper ends, a wheel or drum having a ratchet-flange and jonrnaled in the hearings in the frame, a fiat bar having handles at both ends, pivoted in a slot in one of the uprights, sliding with its free end in a slot in the other upright, engaging the ratchet-flange with its upper edge, and hearing with its lower edge against a spring near its outer free end, a rope or chain iast'ened at one end to the upper portion'of the frame and at the other end to the drum, a tong or grapple having hooked lower ends and eyed shanks provided with rollers or pulleys in their upper ends, over which the chain or rope passes, and a lever consisting of a curved por tion having a notched outer end and inwardlypointing lip, and provided with a handle, all constructed to operate as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

\Vitnesscs: ISRAEL SHOUDY.

OLE J. Pnnsrnsnann, J. M. HERRMANN. 

